Rebirth
by Mechanism Unknown
Summary: AUish. A semisequential series of short pieces revolving around Bakura if he were to suddenly be brought back to the modern world. Note: It's not supposed to make a lot of storylike sense. Alerts: Spoilers, Character Death.
1. Language

**Language**

Where have all these people come from? Why are they wearing such strange clothes?

What are all these tall buildings? What is this hard surface under my feet? Why is everything made of metal?

Where am I? What am I doing here?

"_Where are we?" _I try to ask someone, but they just stare at me strangely and walk away. I overhear everyone's conversations, but do not understand them. It sounds like jumbled garbage to me. What language are they speaking?

"_Help me! Where am I?" _I shout. Everyone looks but no one answers.

"_HELP ME!!" _I scream. I'm confused; I don't know where I am, _when _I am. No one is listening to me.

Then, suddenly, a voice I understand.

"_Why are you screaming, Bakura?"_

I look up. No. The Pharaoh. Why is he here? Why is he wearing strange clothes like the others?

"_Pharaoh! Get away – I don't need your help!" _I try to walk away, but he moves in front of me. _"Out of my way."_

"_No, Bakura, listen to me." _He grabs my cloak sleeve with a solid grip. _"I want to help you."_

"_How? Why now? Why not at Kul Elna?" _I turn away to leave, although I don't know where I'm going. There are strange metal buildings and indecipherable people everywhere.

"_That was 5,000 years ago."_

I stop. A knot gets caught in my throat. Slowly, I turn around again to face him. He seems completely serious, but I can't trust the Pharaoh.

"_What?" _I prompt, reluctantly wanting him to explain. I hate having to rely on anyone – much less the Pharaoh – like this.

"_We're in the future. Five-thousand years in the future, to be exact," _he answers. I don't believe him. _"We're in a place called 'America.'"_

"_You lie. This is a trick. You're trying to drive me insane." _His expression doesn't budge.

"_You are driving yourself insane," _he argues, and unfortunately I'm starting to believe him. I need some help. I just wish it didn't have to be from the Pharaoh. I relax my glare and I'm about to reply when I hear my name being called.

"_Bakura!" _I whip my head around towards the source: several teenagers are coming our way fast. One of them – who is he? – looks like me. Same ruffled white hair, though longer. I feel like a part of me has been inside his head for a long time.

What is this? How do they know my name?

"_Who are they?" _I demand of the Pharaoh. Of course he's noticed them too. Even I have to admit his not _that _stupid.

"_They are my friends. I thought you've seen them before."_

On second thought, some of them do look familiar. Like I've dealt with them during my battle with the Pharaoh. Maybe.

"_But who is the boy that looks like me?" _I ask, trying to make it sound less curious than it really is. I point to the white-haired one and he looks surprised at it. I guess he sees my furrowed brow, too.

"_That is Ryou Bakura." _I can't tell whether he's just using my name or meaning that "Bakura" is the kid's last name as well as mine. _"Zorc controlled him for a long time. It's a long story." _I bet it is. I apparently missed all of it.

The group of kids has caught up by now. The boy says something in the foreign language to me. All I understand is my name. He looks very worried, and I wonder why. He tries to reach out to me, but I jerk back. He seems disappointed – sad, even.

"_How does he know me?" _I ask the Pharaoh. _"I don't know him." _The others look confused at our speech, like they don't understand. The boy keeps on repeating my name and strange words.

"_Tell him that," _he orders me. I don't like taking orders from him, but this seems like something I should do. _"Repeat after me. This means 'I don't know you.'" _He then says something in the strange language, slowly so I can hear it clearly. I turn to the boy who looks like me and repeat it; slowly and softly at first, then louder and harder. This disappointment and sadness grows stronger on his face.

I wish I knew how to fix it.

-----------------------------------

"_I don't know you. I don't know you! I don't know you!_" the tomb robber says over and over with a strong accent to the confused Ryou Bakura. The others sympathize with his bewilderment, aware of why he is such a state.

"I guess we have a lot of explaining to do," Yugi comments, and the others nod in agreement.

-----------------------------------

A/N: Okay, time for an explanation! At the suggestion of a friend/reader, I will actually explain the back-story to you, since I can't guarantee that I'm the only one who's made this interpretation. It deals with Millennium World: Volume 4, so _spoilers!_

Anyway, so in Millennium World: Volume 4 the Spirit of the Ring has entered Memory World and challenged Yugi and his friends to a life-or-death duel. At one point, he says straight-out: "I am Zorc!" Therefore, Spirit of the Ring is Zorc who is the Lord of Darkness, while Bakura is the Thief King. Two completely different people. (Although Bakura is, to some extent, under Zorc's influence in Memory World.) Thus, it was never actually _Bakura _who inhabited the Millennium Ring and controlled Ryou, although everyone – including Ryou – thinks it was, up until the point where they (presumably) make this same conclusion. Thus, Bakura doesn't know who Ryou is, while Ryou thinks he – the thief – is the same person who controlled him for so long.


	2. I Am Not Myself

**I Am Not Myself**

"_What did you do to him!?" _I scream in his face. He laughs evilly, in my voice. I'm finally realizing how scary it is to hear me laugh like that, as if I'm enjoying the pain of others.

"_Why, I didn't do anything to him." _He mocks me. I hate that. I hate hearing my voice coming from the lips of another. I hate seeing my anger in the eyes of another. I hate seeing my face staring back at me. I hate everything about me!

"_Then why is he so scared of me?"_

He laughs again. I understand, at least a little, why Ryou is so scared of my face. But then again, it's not my face… Those eyes – they aren't mine. I have blue eyes, I know I do!

I can't even imagine how Ryou feels when he seems himself with those evil eyes.

"_What did you do to him?" _I ask again. A naïve part of me somehow believes that he will actually answer me if I try hard enough.

"_I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done."_

"_No! I wouldn't have hurt him! I don't hurt innocents." _Embarrassingly, I succumb to practically pleading in front of him. I don't hurt innocent people like Ryou. He didn't have anything to do with this.

Flashes of a burning Thebes crash through my mind. What--? What did I do? No, I couldn't have hurt innocent people! No, I was under Zorc's control then…I couldn't have. I wouldn't have--! No, no, no…

My screams mix with his laughter.

-----------------------------------

I hear a soft voice calling my name. It's a nice change from the angry exclamations of it from the Pharaoh.

A gentle yet cold hand brushes against my cheek. My eyes shoot open to reveal Ryou's face in front of them, presumably the owner of the hand as well. He's looking extremely worried, and it makes me even sadder.

"Are you okay, Bakura?" he asks. His sweet voice, always. "You were screaming in your sleep…were you having a nightmare?" I nod slowly, realizing the tears that are scattered across my pillow. I'm not sure what a "nightmare" is, but I have a feeling that the dream I just had was it. Ryou frowns further, bringing his hand from my cheek to my own hand and grasping it, squeezing in comfort.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to worry you," I reply slowly. Pharaoh's been teaching me English – as this strange language is called – so I can talk to other people, though the only person I really see the need to communicate with is Ryou. I wanted to know how to help him; I still want to know how to help him.

"I always worry about you." I think he means to make me feel better, but it has the exact opposite effect. It feels strange to have other people worry about me. I don't deserve it now.

I deserved it, I needed it, back in Kul Elna.

I turn away. I can't stand to look in his eyes anymore. I sit up, I get up, up off the bed, and walk over to the window. The night is dark, and so I am forced to see my reflection once more. The image of Zorc's expression flashes within it – what? No! – I shout and fall back against the floor.

Ryou's at my side instantly, giving me that worried look again. It hurts. It says enough.

"What did he do to you?" I whisper. At first he looks surprised by the question, but then his expression quickly turns to hurt. It pains me even more than the look of worry. It pains me every time I'm forced to think about this.

"He…he took control over me, and forced me to kill people…"

I can tell he doesn't want to answer – who would? – but he also knows that he has to, in order for me to understand. Ryou's smart like that.

"He…wouldn't let me have my own life…" At this, a tear springs from his eyes. I push myself up and give him a hug. I hope it helps.

I can feel his shock. Nevertheless, he returns the hug. I've missed this feeling of being held by someone, so, so much.

"I'm sorry, Ryou."

"Don't apologize," he orders, strangely forceful, and yet sad at the same time. "I understand now that it wasn't your fault – it wasn't even you." He pushes me back from the hug to show me the smile on his face. Strange. My expression says I think so. "You are Bakura, and you'll always be Bakura. Just Bakura."

"Just Bakura," I echo, my lips slowly curving into a smile.


	3. Freedom

**Freedom**

"_Maybe, maybe I should just die and leave him alone."_

Pharaoh looks at me incredulously. _"But he doesn't want to be alone," _he says.

"_Yes, he does," _I retort, glaring at him. _"He told me he wants his own life. He can't have his own life if he's constantly worrying about me."_

"_That just shows he cares. You can have your own life and care about others at the same time. In fact, Téa would claim that in order to have your own life, you _have _to care about others."_ He tries to cheer me up with a comforting smile, but it doesn't work. I snort and look away. For a few minutes we just sit in silence, watching the strange, little animals swimming in the pond. The breeze is lighter than it ever was in Egypt; the air cooler. I pull my legs up to my chest like I'm cold, but maybe I'm just scared.

Pharaoh suddenly sighs and places a hand on my shoulder. _"Bakura," _he says softly, but not like Ryou says it, _"don't be a coward and kill yourself just because you think we'd be better off."_ The look on his face is so depressing, so…_pathetic_ for a pharaoh. Though I guess it would fit him, the pathetic Pharaoh himself. _"You're a part of that 'we' now, and how can we be better off when it's missing a part?"_

I snort again. This is one of the sappiest speeches I've ever heard. Téa must be wearing off on him a little too much. I can't stand his attempts to cheer me up anymore. I stand up and put my hand in these things called pockets.

"_I'm going back to the house,"_ I say as I'm walking away. He knows I don't mean his house – _The _house. _Ryou's _house.

I try to walk away, at least. Pharaoh grabs my arm from behind, _hard_. A clamping grip.

"_What?" _I snarl, whipping around to face him. He staring at me so sternly, like he hates me, which I know he does. But, then, why is he saying such things to me?

"_Bakura, don't be stupid. Please"_—did he just say please? The mighty Pharaoh himself?—_"_please_, don't kill yourself."_

I just stare at him for a minute, matching his glare. _"Don't order me around," _I finally reply. I walk away and don't look back.

-----------------------------------

I see it. Every time he looks at me, at my face. A brief moment of utter fear streaked in Ryou's eyes, contaminating those innocent eyes of his. Of course, he quickly commands the fear to disperse, but I notice it. I always notice it. I don't think he realizes that I do, or how much it hurts me to realize that I'm hurting him every time he looks at me.

Never again, Ryou.

I wait until he leaves for school, a place where he can be alone – without me. I think, selfishly, that if he truly was worried about me he wouldn't leave me alone during the day. But then again, isn't that precisely why I'm doing this? _Because _he worries about me so?

Yes. He worries about me _too _much. Too much for him to have a life of his own.

Never again, Ryou, never again. I will no longer take this right away from you. You will no longer have to stare with fear into these eyes of mine. And I will no longer have to return the gaze with guilt.

The knife is sharp, delectably sharp. I run my fingers along the edge, giving almost enough pressure to cut my finger, but not quite. How ironic, my weapon of choice, considering Zorc's apparent fondness for knives.

I…I will overcome my fear of them; I will overcome my fear of him. I will overcome my selfishness, and leave Ryou to have his own life.

I will make Ryou happy. Whatever it takes.

I bring the knife to my chest. My heart beats faster with every passing inch, every passing second. Why am I so afraid? I must overcome this fear.

In one quick motion, I plunge the knife straight into my chest. It hurts at first, but the pain quickly goes away as my nervous system fades. I glance with one last look at the blood-spattered note on the floor, streaked with my slapdash handwriting:

_This way, you won't have to look at my face ever again._

Signed, _Just Bakura._


End file.
